Zambian opposition leaders have urged the African Union to intervene in the post-election crisis, warning that the planned 1 September inauguration of President elect Hakainde Hichilema could render scrutiny of the disputed vote “moot.”
Writing on behalf of the Tonse‑Pamodzi Alliance, former diplomat Emmanuel Mwamba told AU Commission chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf in a letter dated 25 August that Zambia’s judicial mechanisms for contesting election results had been disabled.
He cited the sealing of court premises on 24 August by armed security forces, which prevented lawyers from filing petitions on the final day of the seven‑day constitutional deadline.
“A State cannot demand that election disputes proceed through exclusively legal channels while physically sealing those channels, and it cannot rely on an impossibility of its own creation,” Mwamba wrote.
He said the closures directly affected the submission of petitions by aggrieved electoral stakeholders.
“The gravest of these breaches can still be arrested, but only before the inauguration scheduled for 1 September 2026 renders judicial scrutiny of the election moot,” the former ambassador to Ethiopia said.
To beat the deadline, lawyer Linda Kasonde, activist Brebner Changala and the LCK Freedom Foundation were forced to electronically send a petition via the private email of Chief Justice Mumba Malila.
The Chief Justice acknowledged receipt and referred the matter to the Constitutional Court.
The opposition argues that proceeding with Hichilema’s inauguration before the court rules on the petition would pre‑empt constitutional remedies.
Mwamba also raised concerns over military deployments at polling stations and tallying centres, as well as a security operation at the residence of main opposition candidate Brian Mundubile during which former minister Mutotwe Kafwaya was reportedly killed and several figures arrested.
He further questioned the conduct of the Electoral Commission of Zambia, citing its suspension of tallying on 14 August and the subsequent early‑morning declaration of results on 18 August without publishing polling‑station‑level data.
Meanwhile, judiciary spokesperson Kalumba Slavin said the Constitutional Court Registry had not received any presidential petition by close of business on 25 August, confirming that Hichilema’s swearing‑in will proceed on September 1 in line with constitutional provisions.
JN/APA